Sir Walter Raleigh
This extraordinary 2512 piece plywood jigsaw puzzle, cut by Simon Stocken, is rated by his family as being his greatest creation yet. Manufactured for HM Queen Elizabeth II and previously displayed at Her Royal residence in Sandringham, it has been cut in between one and five different levels, all with a treadle-saw. Colour line-cut at almost every conceivable opportunity, this predominantly interlocking puzzle is certainly not one for the faint-hearted! It has also been cut without the familiar Puzzleplex whimsy shapes, leaving room only for Simon's signature pieces towards the upper right and the raised relief shield in the upper left corner. All together a quite remarkable jigsaw puzzle!
The Stocken family have very kindly provided an update relating to this puzzle: It was borrowed back from HM the Queen to exhibit at a puzzle fair in Los Angeles in 2004. So far so good! Now, it was contained within a beautifully crafted display box and designed so that it could stand at an angle of about fifteen degrees off the vertical. Unfortunately the official photographer of the exhibition did not realise it was a jigsaw and pulled it forward……there followed an avalanche of pieces and it had to be brought back to the UK in four separate bags, hoping they accorded with the right quarters of the jigsaw. It remained in this state until late February 2014, when a concerted effort began to reassemble it. Having located a sufficient number of tables for the multitude of pieces, the family, along with daily visitors and helpers, set about the task in earnest, finally completing their task almost three weeks later. The last images show some of the stages and also showcase the detail cut into the lower layers which is not visible in the completed puzzle! The final image shows it back in the bespoke frame from which this latest adventure began some ten years previously!
Images and details courtesy of the Stocken family. Thank you.
Artist: Grinling, G.
Date: 10/05/2002
Brand: Puzzleplex
Material: Plywood
Nationality: British-England
Pieces: 2512
Size: 25" x 29"
Theme: Portrait
Title: Sir Walter Raleigh
The Stocken family have very kindly provided an update relating to this puzzle: It was borrowed back from HM the Queen to exhibit at a puzzle fair in Los Angeles in 2004. So far so good! Now, it was contained within a beautifully crafted display box and designed so that it could stand at an angle of about fifteen degrees off the vertical. Unfortunately the official photographer of the exhibition did not realise it was a jigsaw and pulled it forward……there followed an avalanche of pieces and it had to be brought back to the UK in four separate bags, hoping they accorded with the right quarters of the jigsaw. It remained in this state until late February 2014, when a concerted effort began to reassemble it. Having located a sufficient number of tables for the multitude of pieces, the family, along with daily visitors and helpers, set about the task in earnest, finally completing their task almost three weeks later. The last images show some of the stages and also showcase the detail cut into the lower layers which is not visible in the completed puzzle! The final image shows it back in the bespoke frame from which this latest adventure began some ten years previously!
Images and details courtesy of the Stocken family. Thank you.
Artist: Grinling, G.
Date: 10/05/2002
Brand: Puzzleplex
Material: Plywood
Nationality: British-England
Pieces: 2512
Size: 25" x 29"
Theme: Portrait
Title: Sir Walter Raleigh
© 2008-2024 David Shearer
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